1
as in hissed
to make a sound like that of stretching out the speech sound \s\
with their satin costumes swishing, the little ballerinas chasséd onto the stage
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in flapped
to move from side to side or up and down with quick jerky motions
the horse's tail swishes after every jump
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of swished
When the video screen showed Caruso, the rabid Thunder fans doubled their volume, as if a game-winning buzzer-beater had just swished.
—
Marcus Thompson Ii, New York Times, 19 May 2026
In one of the top games, Atlanta’s Paul Parks took a 6-2 lead over Miami’s Byrd Daniel III, before Daniel swished two straight behind the arc to tie it at six points.
—Jason Beede, Sun Sentinel, 16 May 2026
Citron swished a shot from half-court but didn't release the ball before the buzzer.
—ABC News, 15 May 2026
Edwards hit a buzzer-beating 31-footer at the end of the first quarter, and McDaniels swished a 3-pointer from the wing to end the first half with a 51-all tie.
—CBS News, 9 May 2026
The video shows Chalamet pull up for an impressive-looking three-point shot over one of his two friends from the top of the arc that swished through the net.
—Tommy McArdle, PEOPLE, 6 May 2026
The crowd was scattered and some left early on the Monday evening, but fans still created plenty of noise when the Lynx swished home 3-pointers and made strong defensive plays.
—Pj Green
april 28, Kansas City Star, 28 Apr. 2026
Karaban swished his first and only 3-pointer of the night.
—Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 2 Apr. 2026
With Duke playing keep-away to prevent the Huskies from fouling, Cayden Boozer’s pass near midcourt was deflected by Demary, and after UConn came up with the ball, Mullins swished a 3 from 35 feet away.
—Noah Trister, Baltimore Sun, 29 Mar. 2026
Marcus Thompson Ii, New York Times, 19 May 2026
In one of the top games, Atlanta’s Paul Parks took a 6-2 lead over Miami’s Byrd Daniel III, before Daniel swished two straight behind the arc to tie it at six points.
—Jason Beede, Sun Sentinel, 16 May 2026
Citron swished a shot from half-court but didn't release the ball before the buzzer.
—ABC News, 15 May 2026
Edwards hit a buzzer-beating 31-footer at the end of the first quarter, and McDaniels swished a 3-pointer from the wing to end the first half with a 51-all tie.
—CBS News, 9 May 2026
The video shows Chalamet pull up for an impressive-looking three-point shot over one of his two friends from the top of the arc that swished through the net.
—Tommy McArdle, PEOPLE, 6 May 2026
The crowd was scattered and some left early on the Monday evening, but fans still created plenty of noise when the Lynx swished home 3-pointers and made strong defensive plays.
—Pj Green
april 28, Kansas City Star, 28 Apr. 2026
Karaban swished his first and only 3-pointer of the night.
—Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 2 Apr. 2026
With Duke playing keep-away to prevent the Huskies from fouling, Cayden Boozer’s pass near midcourt was deflected by Demary, and after UConn came up with the ball, Mullins swished a 3 from 35 feet away.
—Noah Trister, Baltimore Sun, 29 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for swished
Verb
-
Refn has made characters moving and speaking in a benzodiazepine fugue state — lines hissed out stiltedly into dead air, spoken like throwing stones down a well — his signature in recent films.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
19 May 2026
-
His line drive hissed past a leaping Steffen for a 3-2 Miami lead.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
19 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Kerolin’s head was down and eventually so was Shaw’s, her run stopped, arms flapped against her side.—
Megan Feringa,
New York Times,
17 May 2026
-
The jacket hugged every contour of your torso and never flapped in the wind.—
The Editors,
Outside,
18 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
This time, Valdano had flicked on a long pass, Maradona and Fenwick were again chasing the second ball, and Fenwick jumped and threw out an elbow into Maradona’s face.—
Michael Cox,
New York Times,
3 June 2026
-
The teen prodigy flicked the ball over a Swedish defender and volleyed home to give his team a 3–1 lead in the 55th minute of the match.—
Gitanjali Roy,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
3 June 2026
Verb
-
Rice swung at the first pitch from left-hander Noah Cameron, a four-seam fastball, to hit a triple that took an awkward bounce off the left field wall and scattered away from Royals left fielder Isaac Collins past the foul line.—
PJ Green,
Kansas City Star,
28 May 2026
-
The company has also swung its strategy widely, from an embrace of low-carbon business lines to a hard pivot back to oil and gas.—
Tim McDonnell,
semafor.com,
28 May 2026
Verb
-
Many a club’s board would have twitched in the face of the bare data, but the chain of command above Arteta stayed the course, and the FOMO is so high that tickets for Palace away this weekend are going for £45,000 ($60,000) on resale sites.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
21 May 2026
-
My jaw twitched uncontrollably.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
The enthusiasm was apparent as the catamaran bobbed around the future site of Pier Wind, which recently received a $20-million grant from the California Energy Commission.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
24 May 2026
-
Yellow dandelions bobbed in the breeze.—
Maggie Slepian,
Longreads,
14 May 2026
Verb
-
The dog of outdoor adventures for seriously ill children was not, in other words, being wagged by the tail of the popular salad-dressing company.—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus,
New Yorker,
20 May 2026
-
In the immediate aftermath of West Ham United’s controversial loss to Arsenal, captain Jarrod Bowen launched the protests at the officials, Tomas Soucek and Callum Wilson pleaded for answers, while an incandescent Mads Hermansen repeatedly wagged his finger and had to be ushered away.—
Roshane Thomas,
New York Times,
11 May 2026
Verb
-
In the summer of 2020, former Morgan Stanley trader Adam Crawley was wandering through Indonesia, Thailand and Australia, perfecting his qigong with a man called Master YanG, when a cold message on LinkedIn jerked him back to reality.—
Phoebe Liu,
Forbes.com,
26 May 2026
-
John jerked Maggie back by the elbow and stopped her from stepping into the street.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Swished.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swished. Accessed 8 Jun. 2026.
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